Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 67
षड्योजनवहा कुल्य नद्योऽल्पा द्वादशैव च । चतुर्विंशतिगा नद्यो महानद्यस्ततोऽधिकाः
ṣaḍyojanavahā kulya nadyo'lpā dvādaśaiva ca | caturviṃśatigā nadyo mahānadyastato'dhikāḥ
ആറ് യോജന വരെ ഒഴുകുന്ന ജലധാരയെ ‘കുല്യാ’ എന്നു പറയുന്നു; പന്ത്രണ്ട് യോജന വരെ ഉള്ള നദികൾ ‘അൽപ നദികൾ’. ഇരുപത്തിനാല് യോജന വരെ എത്തുന്നവ ‘മഹാനദികൾ’; അതിലധികം ഉള്ളവ അതിലും മഹത്തരം।
Mārkaṇḍeya (to Yudhiṣṭhira) [contextual deduction across Revā Khaṇḍa dialogue]
Tirtha: नदी-प्रमाण-निर्णय (classification of waterways)
Type: river
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira
Scene: A sage-teacher points to a stylized map-scroll showing waterways of different lengths; three bands labeled kulyā, alpa-nadī, mahā-nadī, with pilgrims at various fords.
FAQs
Sacred geography in the Purāṇas includes concrete classifications; the ‘greatness’ of a river is framed through traditional measures, supporting graded tīrtha-merit teachings.
No single river is named, but the taxonomy supports the Revā Khaṇḍa’s broader glorification of major river tīrthas.
None directly; it provides definitions (kulyā, small river, great river) used to interpret the merit statements about bathing and proximity.